The Girl with the Dark Eyes
by Sasha Kingsley
Summary: It was a quiet day at Avengers Tower, until Fury sounded the alarms... Steve/oc, Tony/Bruce, Tony-Bruce parenting
1. Chapter 1

It was one of those days where everything was awfully normal. Well, as normal as it could be within the Avengers Tower, formerly Stark Tower. Tony and Bruce had hidden themselves in the lab, doing some sciency stuff, Clint was prowling around in the air vents, Natasha was vigorously cleaning her weapons and Thor was off to New Mexico, visiting 'my Lady Jane'.  
And Steve? He was simply drawing the exquisite view from the top of the Tower, overseeing nearly everything in Manhattan. It was probably the fiftieth time he'd drawn the very same view, but still he kept doing it. It gave him some mental rest, up there alone with nothing (or rather no Tony) buzzing in his ears. Steve sighed, he was bored out of his mind. Couldn't director Fury come up with some things to do? A mission perhaps?

Tony was happily working on the Mark XII, updating the thrusters and adding some new flares he wanted to test out during the next mission, while Bruce was observing an experiment with gamma radiation. They had been going steady for a while now, ever since Tony had fallen asleep on Bruce's shoulder during a film night a few months ago. Tony looked back at his lover, grinning when he saw the gentle man with anger issues absently cleaning his glasses with an oily stretch of cotton. The very same piece Tony used to clean his hands after working on the hydraulics of a car. Life was good for them, though they could use some action as the Hulk became somewhat restless after a while.

Hawkeye, aka Clint Barton was shuffling down the air vents on Natasha's floor, trying to surprise her after his last fail. He'd looked in her homely living room, but hadn't found her there, so now he slid towards her bedroom, maybe to get a look at his favorite Russian redhead.  
'Get your ass out of the vent, Clint, or I'll shoot you out of it.' Came a sudden remark from behind him. It seemed the predator had become the prey in his game. Natasha didn't look very happy with him being in her ceiling, but she seemed mostly exasperated. She was after all his best friend.

So it was one of the more quiet days in Avengers Tower when suddenly Jarvis sounded the alarms.


	2. Chapter 2

The moment the alarms sounded, the previous quiet of the Tower had disappeared. There was a sudden buzz of activity, the Avengers quickly assembling in a Quinjet waiting on the roof of the Tower. Everyone was checking their gears, and Bruce relayed a message to Thor, who was flying directly to the helicarrier using Mjolnir, his mighty hammer.  
While Tony reviewed on his Iron Man suit, Steve patted at his shield and Natasha checked her guns and Clint's quiver and bow, Clint flew the jet at top speed towards the headquarters of SHIELD.

The moment they entered, the six superheroes knew Fury was in a pissed off mood. The entire room seemed tense, even though only agents Coulson and Hill were accompanying him. The director looked sharply at them, a deep frown on his face.  
'We have a situation, gentlemen.'  
A sniff from Natasha made him look at her,  
'And agent Romanoff,' he conceded. 'You all remember the base we recently raided? The one in Europe?'  
At everyone's collective nod, he went on:  
'There was one metal chest we had some trouble with, the locks on it made it nearly impossible to get it open. The IT team was able to crack the code yesterday, and now we are in some deep shit.'  
Tony snorted, 'I could've opened in half a day, why bother giving it to those idiots?'  
'Because last time you said, and I quote "I have no time for a dumb case, open it yourself One-eye"' Agent Hill shot back. 'So we did.'  
Clint had enough of no knowing and a verbal spar worked on his nerves, 'So mind telling us what was in the thing?'  
Fury didn't answer, but led them through the ship towards the medical department. A thick door with a red sign saying 'Danger, authorized personnel only' blocked their way. He opened it without minding the reactions of the heroes, who looked at each other suspiciously. They entered a brightly lit laboratory, with people rushing about. There were screens just about everywhere and tubes leading towards the single table in the middle of the space. There was someone lying on it.

'She is an experiment of HYDRA, one of the last ones they were able to execute. We don't know much about her, apart from her being alive. She was found in the case, surrounded by an unknown crystal we managed to break through this morning. It's up to Dr Banner and Mr. Stark to find more about her physicals, agents Romanoff and Barton will do an identity check. Thor and the Captain will stand close-by, as she can wake up any moment.' With that, the director left them, along with the entire medical team.

The team came closer and looked at the girl on the table. She was pale, with dark shadows under her eyes. Her honey blonde hair seemed uncombed for at least a week, but it was still clean. Her entire body was also tied down to the table, with only a sheet covering her and one covering the table. Tubes were placed at monitors and showed a very slow heartbeat, at twenty beats per minute. On another screen, her blood pressure seemed very normal, but right next to it was a brain scan.  
Or it should have been a brain scan, as there was very little activity going on, just about enough to keep her body alive.  
'Right, Clint makes a picture and I will sample you some blood, can you make anything with that, Natasha?  
The female assassin nodded and the two men went to work, to find the girl's identity.  
When the Widow and the Hawk left the room, Thor and Steve took position near the girl's head. Bruce and Tony started making notes on her physical wellbeing, discussing softly what they found.  
'She's healthy, but there's something wrong with that heartbeat, even for someone sedated it's very slow.' Tony muttered.  
'Indeed. But take a look at this, she has several scars. There's one on the side of her neck, near the artery. Another two on her face, very faint, several on her knees and ankles, as if she'd been chained. But the strangest are these,' Bruce lifted the sheet off the girl's stomach, showing his lover three white points on her side, forming a perfect triangle.  
'The scans they made of her show also several severe inflammations of her joints and tendons. If she were awake, she would barely be able to step, not even counting the ripped and torn muscles just about everywhere. We should be lucky there's not internal bleeding or no broken bones. Poor kid, she has to be in a lot of pain.'  
Thor piped up, using his indoor voice, 'These wounds are those of a slave, only the whip marks are missing.'  
The three other men looked at him strangely, how could the man know that? But he seemed right, the things they found out seemed to come from heavy labor and malnutrition. Looking further at her bone structure, Bruce found something unusual. Her shoulder blades had some deformities, they looked as if something was missing, but he couldn't be sure. The physicist decided to take a look at the blood samples, maybe he would be able to find an answer to the unusual things.

Tony, Steve and Thor had been sitting around the table for a while, not saying anything to keep the quiet. Steve had at some point gone outside to go ask one of the nurses for some clothing for Jane Doe, as it was cold in the lab and he felt the girl should have at least some underwear. The nurse had told him she'd get him the clothes as soon as possible. When he'd asked why Jane Doe wasn't lying in a bed, the doctors nearby had flushed heavily and looked away. 'She probably won't wake up for a while and she's just an experiment.' One of the nurses had answered boldly. Steve had reared back in shock and demanded a hospital bed be brought in the room, along with the clothes. The fury in his eyes had made the medical staff obey him immediately. So the girl was now lying on a bed instead of the table and had been clothed by a few female doctors. At least she would be a bit more comfortable.

Suddenly, Bruce walked in, along with Clint and Natasha. Each of them looked grim. Natasha's face showed anger, something they didn't see very often. Something had to be very wrong.  
But before any words could be exchanged, a soft murmur came from the hospital bed.


	3. Chapter 3

**OOPS! Forgot the previous chapters, but here it is: I do not own any of the original characters, only the girl is mine.**

* * *

The team immediately crowded around the bed, where the girl was waking up. Another sound came from her mouth, this time more pained. Her head rolled around, seemingly looking for something, but her eyes were still closed.  
'Hey there, can you open your eyes for us?' Natasha asked softly. The girl sighed, and her lashes fluttered a bit, before she opened her eyes. And promptly shut them again against the harsh light of the fluorescent lamps. Bruce immediately lowered the lights, until only a soft glow came from them.  
'The lights are dimmed, sweetheart.' The Widow spoke again.  
'Thank you.' Came the soft whisper of the girl, her eyes opened now. They were a very dark brown, with specks of gold in them. But there were emotions in them, so harsh and deep, it hurt to look in them. Pain, fear and sadness filtered their way to the world. Her voice was rough, as she hadn't spoken in a while and had nothing to drink. Natasha brought a glass to the girls lips, so she could sip some water. Slowly at first, but after she'd deemed it safe to drink, the girl quickly emptied the glass.  
'Thank you.' She spoke more clearly now, her voice smoother. She looked at each one of them, with a more calculating look, the emotions ebbing from her face.  
'May I know where I am, please?' She asked no one in particular. Natasha took it on herself to answer the girl. She knew some of the things the girl had gone through and she hadn't shown a bad reaction to the redhead, yet.  
'You're in the medical wing from SHIELD, you were brought in here after you were found in that HYDRA-base. You went through some very bad things.' The girl had a pensive look on her face, her eyes were looking at something far away. After a while, she looked back at Natasha, and smiled a little. 'Thank you, again.' The assassin smiled back.  
'Now, I looked for some information about you. I found your name is Anastasia Johnson, is that correct?'  
'Yes, but most people call me Sasha, it's shorter.'  
'Good, Sasha. I am Natasha, and these men are Tony, Bruce, Clint, Steve and Thor. We will be watching after you for a while.' The two females looked in each other's eyes, a small bond of trust forming between them. Bruce sidled a bit closer to the bed, clearing his throat.  
'Hello Anastasia. I'm Dr Bruce Banner and I'm the one in charge of your recovery.'  
'Hi Dr Banner.' Came the reply, her eyes fixed on his face. She seemed to be looking for something, and when she found it, tension seeped out of her. Bruce spoke again, softly.  
'I'm sure you are already aware of the pain in your body?' At the girl's nod he went on, 'You have severe inflammation in you joints and tendons, ripped muscles and some other things. But what worries me the most are your genetics.' Suddenly the girl became withdrawn, looking away from him. She pushed herself as far away as she could in the bed, her heart rate sped up. Tony quickly intervened, trying to help.  
'You don't have to say anything, what happened is done. But if we can help you, please let us do so.'  
He reached out to her, very slowly he put his hand right next to hers, touching only a little bit. Anastasia looked at the engineer, her dark eyes were wide with fear and distrust. 'I know you're scared, sweetie, but we want to help you.' Natasha murmured softly. Her soft words and Tony's concerned look made the patient calm down. Natasha shooed the other three out of the room, leaving only Tony and Bruce with her and Anastasia.

* * *

By the time Natasha left the room, it had become quite late and the three she'd nearly kicked out of the room had fallen asleep against the wall opposite the door. She smiled just the tiniest bit, kneeled down next to her partner and shook him awake gently.  
'Mmh, Tasha? Time's it?' the sandy haired archer mumbled.  
'Eleven PM. We're going back to the Tower, Tony and Bruce are staying here with the girl.'  
'Hmph, good. My back is killing me.' Came the reply.  
Together they woke Steve and Thor, then the four left quietly.

Inside the room, Anastasia had fallen asleep again, worn out from the talking they'd done and the morphine she'd received for the pain. Tony and Bruce were checking the cardiogram again and saw that while her heartbeat stayed quite slow, it had peaked at some points during the talk. Her brain scan showed more activity, especially when they'd been conversing. It was like a lightshow flickering inside her head. The two lovers were conversing in a low voice, muttering about the things the girl had revealed of her past. Apparently, she'd been an only child and her parents had been murdered just a few days before her 20th birthday. In the same situation, she'd been abducted and kept drugged, so she had barely memories about the torturing she'd gone through. What she did remember was terrible to say the least. She'd woken up once, only to find herself in a tall see-through cylinder, filled with a strange liquid and tubes and wires connected just about everywhere on her body. There was also the pain she remembered, the white hot agony when something had been injected near her heart. Another memory was one where she'd been bound by knees and ankles, hanging upside down while she was beaten into unconsciousness.  
'Do you think she'll ever be able to have a normal life, Bruce?' Tony sounded rough, Anastasia's story reminded him of his time in Afghanistan. For some reason, thinking of the girl in his situation hurt worse than his own memories. He felt a need to protect the girl, to make sure she was safe and healthy.  
'I don't know, I honestly don't know.' Bruce sighed. Like Tony he felt the need to keep the girl safe, even the presence in the back of his head rumbled approvingly at his feelings. For once, Bruce barely felt anger coming from the Hulk, it felt more like worry and possessiveness. 'Can't we take care of her? I mean, keep her living with us for a while?' Tony looked up at his lover, a small smile grew on his face.  
'Of course we can, I mean, we have the space and all.' Both knew there was more than helping the girl for a while. There had a connection between the three of them. Both wanted her to become more to them than a charity case. They wanted her to be family.


	4. Chapter 4

The second time Anastasia woke up, lights were still dimmed. The fuzzy feeling from sleeping for a long time under influence of narcotics was creeping out of her bones. She felt better than she remembered in a while. There was no one in the room with her, and the only sounds came from her heart monitor, which beeped a steadily fifty beats per minute. She took a while to look around and observe the computer screens, when suddenly a voice with a upscale British accent spoke from the ceiling.  
'Good morning, Miss Johnson. It is nine o'clock in the morning. Master Stark and Doctor Banner will be pleased to know you are awake. Shall I call them?'  
Feeling a bit bewildered, Anastasia didn't answer immediately, looking around for the voice's owner.  
'Ehm, Hello? Who is there?' The voice answered within moments.  
'My apologies, Miss Johnson. I am the AI from Master Stark and my name is Jarvis.'  
'An artificial intelligence? I didn't know that was already possible. Eh, Jarvis, was it? Could you please tell me where I can find Mr. Stark and Dr Banner? I would like to walk a bit, if that is possible.'  
'Yes, Miss Johnson. Dr Banner mentioned that walking would be a painful objective though.' The voice sounded a bit concerned in Anastasia's ears. Was that even possible? A computer, crudely said, with the ability to have emotions? Anastasia was deeply impressed.  
'Oh, but I've had worse. Walking usually helps getting the stiffness out of my limbs.' She removed the sensors from her body, grimacing as one stuck on the sensitive skin of her neck.  
'Very well. I shall give you the directions to the Briefing Room, where Master Stark and Doctor Banner are. Just follow my lead, please.' The voice sounded a tad amused, the girl sounded much like his creator, even though they barely knew each other, only Miss Johnson seemed to have more manners than his master. Even though he was basically a program, the AI started to like the girl.  
'Thank you, Jarvis.' And the man made intelligence showed the girl where to go.

* * *

On another level of the helicarrier however, the atmosphere of friendliness was nowhere in sight. When the Avengers had assembled in the morning, Steve had told his tale to the others about the reactions he got from the medical staff. All of them suspected the way Anastasia Johnson had been treated, was an order from higher up the hierarchy. Very few people on board had the ability to overrule the medics, and the two top dogs were now sitting in front of them. Nick Fury and his right hand, Maria Hill.  
True to his image, Tony had started barking at Fury the moment the two entered the Briefing Room. In her own fashion, agent Hill had come to her boss' defense. What neither of them had expected though, was Natasha's Russian temper. Seeing the girl on that table had been a serious blow to the heart of the otherwise unmovable assassin.  
'Director, keep your dog quiet.' Natasha hissed.  
The sudden silence that followed her demand was tense. Everyone had turned to look at her. The Avengers knew, an angry Natasha meant a dangerous Natasha. The thing was, the infamous Black Widow wasn't really angry, she was beyond furious at the treatment of Anastasia. The only person who now didn't seem scared of the assassin, was Nick Fury.  
'Mind telling me what the hell is going on here, agent Romanoff? I come in here and Stark is his annoying self, as usual. But now even you are acting abnormally.'  
'That is maybe because someone ordered the medics to treat Anastasia as nothing more than a lab rat.' Bruce intervened, his eyes were a curious mix between brown and green. He kept his anger on a tight leash at the moment. Fury frowned at him.  
'A lab rat? What do you mean, Dr Banner?' If there was something going on in his territory, Fury wanted to go to the bottom of this. Steve answered in Bruce's place.  
'What Bruce means, is that the room where Miss Johnson was treated had a very low temperature, she had no clothes on, she did not even wear a hospital gown and was lying on a metal table instead of a bed, Director. I believe I speak for all of us when I say that is inhuman treatment, especially for a patient such a Miss Johnson.'  
He looked at his fellow teammates and saw they all nodded in agreement.  
'I have not ordered that treatment, Rogers. Nor did I know anything of it.' Fury spoke with barely repressed rage. The person who had tried to go behind his back would pay for it.  
'Then who did?' Clint growled. 'There aren't many who can order the medics.' Suddenly he turned towards agent Hill. As did everyone else, including Fury. The second in command of SHIELD looked hard at the others,  
'Yes I ordered that treatment, that thing cannot be trusted. It could be a spy from HYDRA.' The agent snarled.

It proved to be too much for the team. Several things happened at once.

Bruce Banner, known for his self control lost it. His huge alter ego roared out 'HULK SMASH!', grabbing the table in the middle of the room and tossed it aside. Natasha and Clint suddenly had their weapons in hand, trained on the woman they detested so much. Thor had raised his hammer, and it was crackling madly, electricity already gaining power. Tony started barking at Jarvis to close the room hermetically. Steve and Fury both took a step backwards, they only planned to come in between when it would become too dangerous for the crew of the flying ship. Maria Hill had scrambled backwards at the almighty roar of Hulk, grabbing for her handgun.

Just as the Hulk raised his fist to smash the woman, a yell stopped him. 'NO!' A figure stepped between Hulk and agent Hill. It was Anastasia, with her hands raised and palms open, the universal gesture of being non threatening. She stood with her back to Agent Hill, facing the green rage monster without a trace of fear. 'Don't hurt her, please.' She spoke softly.  
It was only then that a few things became clear. Apart from Tony Stark, there was another person who had no fear in facing the Hulk. That person should be unable to walk yet. That person made the Hulk turn back into Bruce Banner. He stumbled a bit, and was immediately supported by the girl for whom he'd wanted to take revenge. He looked at her and smiled a bit.  
'You know, I was aware you were quite tall, but I did not imagine you to be six feet.'  
Anastasia grinned back. Compared to her, Bruce was quite a bit smaller. And he was not the only one. The rest of the team relaxed and trouped together around the duo. Natasha, Clint, Tony and Bruce were smaller than the young blonde. Only Steve and Thor were able to look down on her.  
'Yes well, it comes in handy when you play basketball.' Anastasia answered back.  
'As enjoyable as it is, maybe we should come back to the matter at hands?'  
Fury broke the team moment. He nodded towards his assistant. The team, plus Anastasia turned to look at her. Maria Hill still had her gun in hand, but it wasn't pointed at Bruce anymore. It was aimed for Anastasia's heart.  
'Step away from that thing.' Hill snarled at the team. 'I will put her down!'  
'Agent Hill, stand down.' Fury interrupted. When there was no reaction, he added 'That is an order.'  
The Avengers did not move either, until Anastasia softly pushed Bruce into Tony's arms.  
'Do as she says,' the girl murmured. She slowly raised her hands, no emotion showing on her face. Tony looked at the child he wanted as family, something in her eyes made him trust her. He stepped back, with Bruce leaning heavily on his shoulders. The rest of the team reluctantly followed his example.  
'See, they stepped back. I'm not going to do anything. You can lower your weapon now.'  
She spoke softly to the agent, who had a crazed look in her eyes. The woman didn't lower her gun, but she twitched, as if the words just spoken physically hurt her. Apparently, director Fury had had enough, and tried to take the gun from his right hand. A shot echoed in the Briefing Room.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Apart from Anastasia and this storyline, I own nothing!

* * *

A shot echoed through the room. Anastasia blinked as a searing pain blossomed in her side. She looked down at her stomach and saw a red stain on the grey material of her shirt. The stain was growing at an alarming rate, while she became aware of a thudding noise in her ear. It took her a few seconds to realize the noise was her own heart beating harshly. Strange, she thought, she'd never before heard her own heartbeat without a monitor attached to her. When she raised her head to look at the scene before her, the ground seemed to sway beneath her feet. But she could handle it, she'd had worse. She'd seen death and destruction, she'd felt the pain of torture, both physically and emotionally. Anastasia focused on what was happening in front of her. The woman who'd threatened her was on the ground being restrained by Natasha and the archer, Clint she recalled. Next to them, the two tall blonde men were holding Bruce by the shoulders and arms, his face was turning green again. She saw the man with the eye patch, it seemed he was the boss as he was giving orders to a few people who ran into the room. Anastasia sighed, she was tired and wanted to sleep. But someone shook her shoulder, which made her look into the eyes of Tony. Through the noise of the beating of her heart, she hadn't heard him calling her name. He seemed anxious about something, his mouth moving quickly and his hands were on her stomach and back. The moment he pressed down, she became aware of her own situation. She'd been shot, and by the feel of it, the bullet when through her body. And it hurt. The pain spread from the wound throughout her whole body, it felt as if she'd been set on fire. Anastasia screamed. And then, everything grew black.

Anastasia saw eyes, dark brown eyes, looking at her with fear. They were Tony's. she desperately wanted to reassure him, but something prevented her from speaking, it pulled her away, like a thread through her side. She remembered something had happened, something important. Was it important? No, it couldn't have been. It could wait, because floating away in the darkness felt good. It felt safe.

* * *

As soon as the trigger had been pulled, Natasha and Clint launched themselves toward Hill. Natasha pulled the gun from her hands as Clint worked her to the ground in a harsh tackle. They worked in symphony, it was something they fell back on in moments like these. As soon as Hill was restrained, some agents from SHIELD took the woman to the detention facility, a few floors down.

Steve and Thor shot in action as soon as they saw the stain on the girl's shirt, supporting and holding Bruce in check. The poor scientist had tears running down his face, he was torn between Hulking out and attacking the bitch who had dared to hurt someone both he and the other guy considered as theirs, or staying himself and helping Anastasia who stood there, bleeding heavily from a bullet wound.

Tony raced to the girl he only met yesterday and already seemed to have known her forever. He cried out her name, fear lacing his voice. It was only when he touched her, that Anastasia reacted. She turned her head, and those eyes, dear lord, those eyes nearly killed him. They looked at him with such calmness, such acceptance, it made him tear up. She simply stood there, as if there wasn't a bullet hole in her stomach, as if she wasn't bleeding out. The moment he pressed his hands on the entrance and exit wounds to lessen the bleeding, she seemed to become aware of the pain. The horrifying scream cut through him, shredding his heart. She collapsed suddenly, as though she was a marionette with the string cut off. Tony panicked, she couldn't have died already, right? Or could she? And then Bruce was there, his eyes a burning green, but completely in control. He ordered the medics who came into the room, lifting the girl with ease on a gurney, leading them out towards the medical wing. The rest of the team followed them, keeping guard before the door of the OR.

After hours of waiting, the sign above the door went green, showing them that the surgery was done. A few minutes later, an exhausted looking Bruce Banner entered the hallway. Tony immediately went to hug the man, he seemed to need some support.  
'How'd it go love?' Tony needed to know, because his lover's face betrayed nothing.  
'There were complications…'  
A sinking feeling in his belly made itself known. The other's faces contorted in pain and sadness.  
'… but she made it. I don't know how, or why, but she's still alive.'  
The feeling in his stomach disappeared at once, a relieved sigh fell from his mouth. He cradled Bruce's face in his hands and softly kissed the man he loved so very much. Bruce smiled the tiniest of smiles, a signal for the others that the girl would make it.

It was a while before they were let into the room. Bruce warned them that his patient wouldn't wake for a while, with the blood loss and the morphine she'd been given. He started telling them about the happenings in the operation room.  
'The bullet went right through, it pierced her liver and broke a rib. Later, that rib pierced her right lung, it must have happened when she fell. We were able to repair all of these things, but she went into cardiac arrest twice, and once she woke up…' He repressed a sob, looking at his hands '… I was elbow deep in her chest, trying to keep her heart beating and she woke up… oh God! She looked at me as if there was nothing wrong! I… I…' Bruce trailed off, the tears were too much to hold in. Tony went to his partner, holding him tightly in his arms, shushing the poor physicist.  
'You couldn't know, love. We both know she's something else, we've seen it already, remember?'  
Natasha sat down at Anastasia's hip, stroking the girl's pale hand. She turned to look at the man who had a mental breakdown.  
'Bruce, this girl has no fear of the other guy. She stepped in front of him to stop him from attacking Hill. She trusts you, completely.'  
'What does that have to do with this, Natasha?' Tony asked.  
'To show Bruce he did the right thing, that he didn't break her trust.' She murmured back.

It was quiet for a while, the steady beeping of the heart monitor calming everybody's nerves. Thor settled himself next to the door, guarding his team from intruders, while Clint perched on the high cupboard. Steve had dropped in a chair and was well on his way to sleep, when a voice dissolved the silence.  
'Mind telling me why I feel as if a truck ran over me?'  
Anastasia had awakened, a pinched expression on her face showing her discomfort. At once, the whole team crowded around her bed, asking a mile of questions a minute. Tony was the first to get them all quiet.  
'Guys! Give the girl some air! Come on, back off.' He huffed, then turned to talk to Anastasia.  
'Do you remember you were shot?'  
The girl blinked at him, then frowned.  
'I think so. That woman with dark hair, right? And also…' she cut off, turning her gaze at Bruce. He couldn't look her in the eyes, feeling so guilty.  
'I remember you saving my life.' She whispered, 'Thank you.'  
Bruce looked up, shocked at the words coming from the person he hadn't expected them from.  
'Why? I mean, I caused you so much pain, you could have died on that table.'  
'You held my heart in your hands, I'm still here. I think that means you saved my life. How many times did my heart stop beating, Bruce?' She rebuked.  
The poor man was shocked at her words, and had a hard time answering.  
'How many times?' She asked again. He finally found the ability to respond;  
'Twice.'  
Anastasia simply smiled at him, she grabbed his hand and squeezed softly.  
'So you saved me twice. Not many people have done that, you know. Many would have given up on me the first time, I know about my heart. It's something that runs in my blood, you can't stop it from doing what it does.'  
'What is she talking about, Stark?' Thor spoke, bewildered about hearing of a hand in a chest to keep someone alive.  
Tony looked at Anastasia, silently asking for permission. With a small nod, she granted it him.  
'Sasha has a special heart. While a normal heart is about the size of one's fist, her heart is quite a bit bigger than that. That is why she has such a low heartbeat and why she can go in cardiac arrest under narcosis. Other than that, we found some abnormalities in her genetic code, which we still have to research a bit.'  
Anastasia's face contorted a bit, whether it was from the pain or Tony's words, no one knew.  
'I want to know what those bastards did to me. Let me help find out.'  
Everybody looked baffled at the girl, no one had known much about her, but it seemed she was familiar with science. Though, as they were talking quietly, Fury entered the room. His face was grave, in his hands a paper box.  
'We have a situation.'


	6. Chapter 6

It was a few days later, when Anastasia was allowed to leave the medical wing of the helicarrier. One of the first things she had to go through to be able to leave the helicarrier though, was an interrogation with SHIELD's badass director, Nick Fury. It seemed that Maria Hill had been compromised when the chest with Anastasia in it had been opened. Some defense mechanism had shot a small dart in her neck, which had put her under a form of hypnosis, to make sure to destroy the content of the chest, ergo Anastasia. While the poor girl hadn't known anything about her, Fury was adamant about getting to the very bottom of this. One of the things they found out about her was the fact she was the very first person who stand toe to toe with Fury's poker face. The Avengers were behind the one way mirror, observing the 'talk' between the two parties. Let's just say it was a new experience for all of them.

'Miss Johnson, were you aware of the mechanism in the chest?'  
'No.'  
'What were you doing in that chest?'  
'Nothing.'  
'Elaborate.'  
'I was unconscious.'  
'Do you know anything about the experiments HYDRA conducted on you?'  
'Yes.'  
'Elaborate.'  
'No.'  
Fury's eye twitched. It was a sign of imminent danger, which had the entire team take a step back from the window.  
'Miss Johnson, you will explain me what the experiments contained.'  
'No, I will not.'  
'I am warning you.'  
That last sentence came out as a growl, Fury stood from his chair, looming over the table and piercing Anastasia with a glare. Bruce whimpered at the view. The answer came with a smirk. The girl leaned back, folded her hands and gave an reply not even Tony would have dared to say.  
'Go ahead, sir. Warn me.'  
Fury actually growled, was that even possible for a human being?  
'Johnson, I can make this a very painful memory for you…'  
Anastasia actually laughed in his face, then she snarled at him, her face contorted with anger.  
'Painful? You don't know what pain is. It's the exact reason why I won't tell you a thing, Director. No one needs to know what happened there, I intend to take it to the grave with me.'  
The last words came out harshly. During her speech, the girl had stood up, leaning on the table separating her from Fury. It was a tense silence that was broken by a sigh of the spy boss.  
'Very well. You can go, but I'm warning you. Make one mistake, Miss Johnson. Just one.'  
'I won't.'  
With that, the girl turned around and stepped out of the room.

The moment the team caught up with Anastasia, they knew something was very wrong. The girl was leaning against the wall heavily, her fist spasming at her side. Her face was turned away from them, so they couldn't see her expression, but Steve thought he could hear her cry.  
'Sweetie, what's wrong?' Natasha tried to get closer to her. However, a raised hand stopped her dead in her tracks.  
'I need to be alone for a while.' Came the surprising steady reply. 'Please, leave me alone.' It sounded more like an order, but it was still polite.  
'Anastasia, we can help you.' Bruce pleaded softly. Steve had enough. He could see the girl was responsible for the pain in his teammates' eyes. He grabbed her by the upper arm and turned her around harshly.  
'You are going to talk to us…' he trailed of, as her eyes, staring at him, were nothing like he had seen before. The gold flecks she had before in her irises, had taken over the rings completely. Her eyes were glowing, almost. Then something happened none of them expected. Anastasia slugged him. The force of her fist broke his nose and threw him on the floor. She snarled at him.  
'I told you to leave me alone.'  
She whirled around and disappeared behind the corner, leaving a stunned silence.

* * *

In the end, Bruce had to break Steve's nose again, as the super soldier serum had healed the bone while it wasn't set straight. The bruises he received though, were healed quicker than that. Steve may have liked the polite girl before, but at the moment he was seriously annoyed with her. Honestly, in his view the girl had some attitude problems.  
'I still don't understand why none of you went after her, honestly.' He sighed at the pitiful view of Tony and Bruce, the lovers moping around.  
'You heard her, Cap, she wanted to be left alone.'  
'And we have the result, she's nowhere to be found on the ship.'  
Jarvis took it as a good moment to break into the conversation.  
'Sir, Sasha has left the helicarrier immediately after your confrontation. She should be on her way home now. She expressly told me to send her greetings to Master Stark and Doctor Banner.'  
It seemed that the AI and Anastasia had become friends in the short time they had met each other. What could be explained by the fact that they both gave as good as they got from Tony's snarky attitude.  
'And you're only telling us now, Jay?' Tony grumbled at his AI.  
'Of course Sir, she asked me to hold it for a while.'  
'Damn, the kid is smart.' Clint actually smiled at the words.  
'And strong.' Natasha added.  
'Why?' Steve wanted to know, it wasn't as if the girl had that much musculature.  
'Because she was able to floor you with one hit, and she weighs about half of you.' Bruce smiled. He turned to one of Jarvis' camera eyes.  
'Jarvis, could you tell me if I can leave a message with her? She doesn't have to accept it if she doesn't want to.'  
'I shall leave her the message sir. She will probably accept it when she has calmed down.'  
'Mh, she's much like Tony, isn't it?' Bruce mused.  
'Indeed, sir.'  
'Well Jarvis, could you start recording please?' A click resounded through the room.  
'Thank you, Jarvis. Anastasia, if you find this message, please let us know if you are safe. I don't need to know where you are, or what you are doing, sweetie. But please let me know if you are safe and sound. I get that you are upset with us, and I'm sorry for it. Please, just give me a sign of life. Thank you…' Bruce trailed off and Tony took over.  
'Hey Sasha. I get it, honey. Steve isn't the brightest bulb in the store, and I would have kicked his ass if you hadn't done that already. Nice hit by the way! But Brucey is worried about you, actually everyone is. But I know you're fine, so just send something back alright? Like a text or something, okay? Well, I guess we're going to hear from you, sooner or later, so hug from me, smothering hug from Bruce and the rest will probably do the same, ciao!'  
Jarvis stopped recording and sent it in an encrypted file to the receiver from the disappeared girl.  
'Now, let's hope she'll come back, eh?' Clint smiled.

* * *

It was three day later, when everyone had returned home to Avengers Tower, that Jarvis called them together in the lounge. A message was returned. As they all congregated in front of the screen, a file opened up, showing its contents. The document proved to be equations, which no one but Bruce seemed to understand.  
'Jarvis, could you put those on my tablet, please?' He asked.  
The document was sent to the Starkpad immediately, which left the screen empty.  
'Could you open the Move-program from my server? I would like to show her message.'  
'Of course, sir.' And the screen switched to a scientific looking 3D structure. It was a stick figure of a human being. Bruce immediately went to work on changing the figure to a model of Anastasia. Then he entered the equations in the program. He explained the others what was going on, as the image began to move.  
'This is Anastasia telling us that she's fine. You can see she's walking right now, which is probably right after she left SHIELD. And now she is, uh, it seems like working out. I think. I don't get the movements of her arms though.'  
Steve interrupted, 'She's playing basketball. Can you enter a ball in the screen, Dr Banner?'  
'Ah, of course. Yes, that's that. She mentioned it calmed her down. Oh, it seems she's writing something in the air now, Tony track the figure of her fingers, please.'  
Tony immediately followed the movements with a stylus, slowly a figure was forming itself, a woman, dressed in drapes, and were those wings on her back? But the head was missing, and there was something Anastasia was writing: _Νίκη_. It was quiet for a while, while they watched the figure make an erasing movement, then starting a new drawing. It was a much simpler drawing, two lines which were curling around themselves, with shorter lines connecting them. Underneath them, a series of letters and numbers formed: _XX mtANA 15gen LeuProLeuTyrGly47 +17ml 3M Ir2._  
Suddenly, Tony turned to Bruce, eyes wide and an expression of hope on his face.  
'She knows.' He whispered, 'She knows something.'  
They turned back to the drawing in time to see the 3D model drawing words: _Dulce et decorum est pro patr__is __mori, semper __volutaria.__  
_Then the figure waved and disappeared. It left a oppressive silence behind. Tony and Bruce were looking at each other with wonder, there was someone who could give them a run for their money in the science department, it seemed. Natasha frowned at the screen, at tear making its way down her cheek. Thor stood looking at it all, not understanding what had happened, while Steve and Clint shared a look, hoping to find out what had been told. Thor broke the silence.  
'Friends, what has been said in the message, for I do not understand what the meaning of it is.'  
Natasha looked up and looked thoughtful for a second.  
'The first image, the woman with the wings, it's a statue in Paris. It's the image of the Greek goddess of Victory. But I don't know what she means by it.'  
'We do.' Bruce and Tony spoke together. 'The second image is a simplified version of DNA, the genetic code. The line underneath, I think it means a female person, as the double X stands for a woman.'  
'It stands for her, actually. The next part, it must be her mtDNA, the inherited part straight through her mother's lineage. ANA stands for Anastasia. And the next part must be the 15th chromosome of it. Jarvis bring it up please.'  
An image with squiggly lines appeared on the screen, the fifteenth line was zoomed in on.  
'Good, now track the next sequence from the line, please.'  
Several parts of the line were highlighted in a blue color. One was zoomed in on, the 47th part.  
'Good, I think I found the idea. You can remove the image, J.' Tony waved it away. He started scribbling furiously on the now empty screen, adding the next part of the equation, trying to figure out its meaning. Bruce stepped up next to him and took over the stylus.  
'She found out what would make the gene react, an injection with iridium would do the trick.'  
Clint took a step back, a shiver running over his spin, he remembered that. Iridium was one of the things Loki needed to open a portal with the tessaract.  
'God, no! That's what was used for that damn cube! I'm not stealing another one!' He cried out.  
'Unnecessary, she's already found it and injected herself. If not, she wouldn't have used the victory statue.' Tony spoke. 'If everything goes according to her plan, the iridium will react with the genes and probably the results of the experiments of HYDRA in her body. She will be a modified human, like Bruce and Steve. Problem is, we don't know what the final result will be.' He sighed.  
'Whatever happened, she remains faithful to you guys.' Natasha spoke comfortingly. 'The last line, "Dulce et decorum est pro patris mori, semper voluntaria", it's Latin. It means something like, "It is good and honorable to die for fathers, always a volunteer." She would give up her life for you two, without hesitation.'  
A sob broke the silence after Natasha's words, Bruce and Tony broke down weeping for the girl they considered a daughter. The rest of the team formed a ring around the two genii, supporting as well as they could. They might not know Anastasia Johnson as good as Tony and Bruce, but they all cared for her in some way.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers, as I do not possess the rights of MARVEL *sigh*. But Anastasia is mine, which is fine with me :)

* * *

Anastasia stood in front of the house she'd lived in for years, trying to decide whether or not she should enter it. The home full of memories of Mom and Dad, her cat, family and friends. The home where she'd changed her name at the very last second, breaking in the servers of her country's State Department. Her new name, Anastasia, wasn't so far off from her previous name, so the change went unnoticed by law officials, even SHIELD didn't know her real name. But it hadn't helped throwing HYDRA off her tail. Her family had known there was something after her, they'd fought to the very last moment to defend her.

She entered the house, everything had been cleaned up, courtesy of her aunts and uncles probably.

_A crash resounded through the hall, the small cabinet falling down.  
'Shit, they're here! Run, I'll hold them off!'_

The cabinet had been repainted, not a trace of blood on it. Further in the house, the door had been reset in the doorway.

_Shouts sounded from the hall, a roar from her father, holding guard on the other side of the door.  
'JANE, take her and run! I can't hold them! GO!'  
'Not without you, Dad!'  
'Go! I'll- AAARGH!'  
Holes from bullets appeared in the wood of the door, red dripped down its surface.  
Her mother grabbed her shoulders, making her face the eyes which were so familiar.  
'He's gone. Now you have to go alone, sweetie. I'll try to delay them.'_

The moment she entered the living room, everything returned. Every part of her memory became alive.

_Three men, dressed in dark clothes, loomed in the doorway. The body of her father was splayed out behind them. Her mother had positioned herself between her and the men, the fierceness of a warrior on her face.  
'If you think I'll allow you to take my daughter, you are sorely mistaken.'  
'Stand aside, and we won't hurt you.' Came the reply from the first man.  
She couldn't see her mother's face, but at the tone of her voice, she could hear her smirking.  
'Well then, why haven't you started yet?'  
It was the first time she'd seen her mother so angry, so beyond furious. It scared her, who was this woman, who punched a hole in a man's face? Who came at two armed combatants without the slightest hesitation? Who was the woman that fought like a lioness?  
_In the end, her mother fell. There were no words, no last smiles, there was just a look. Not even at her, no, Jane Johnson died while looking at a family picture.

The picture still stood in its place, on the armoire in the dining room. Why had her mother looked at it with such desperation? She took the frame, looking at the smiling faces , two of which she would never see again. But the frame felt heavy, too heavy for a small wooden frame. Turning it around, she opened the back. A lead, square and flat object fell out. Picking it up, the girl studied it. It seemed to be a case for a disc. Popping it open, the silvery disc was showed. There was no title, no image. Nothing told what was on that disc. What better way of finding out than running it?

* * *

In another country, Steve Rogers couldn't stop thinking about the girl who had brought both happiness and despair in the team, then running away. Why had Tony and Bruce wanted to adopt her? It was clear she was unstable, what with hitting him and all. Furthermore, she came from HYDRA, his archenemy. What if she wasn't what they all had been told she was? What if she wasn't a prisoner who had been forced in the tortures, but a willing participant? Someone who acted like that to infiltrate SHIELD and the Avengers? What if she was a spy? He sighed in frustration, hitting the reinforced punching bag harder. It started bursting at the seams, sand hissing on the floor.  
On the other side of the gym, Natasha and Clint were sparring, or rather, used the sparring to keep an eye on the Captain. Ever since Anastasia had left them, he'd become much quieter. He kept to himself, even went as far as avoiding eating dinner with the team. Natasha punched her partner in the face, then nodded towards their target. What to do?

On another floor of the Avengers Tower, Bruce and Tony were working on the samples they had from Anastasia's blood. Studying it in depth, they found out why exactly she hadn't wanted anyone to know what had happened in that HYDRA base. If this information fell in the wrong hands, the experiment might be reproduced and that would have devastating effects. And that had nothing to do yet with the DNA results, which were still a riddle for the two scientists. They would understand when Anastasia contacted them again. Which might take a while since she'd disappeared off the grid. The last thing they'd heard from her was that she was alright and in Europe. Everything would be fine, right?

* * *

The information her mother had left her was terrifying to say the least. It seemed that her family on her mother's side had a unique kind of DNA, which was gifted from mother to daughter, no male had ever had the same 'condition' as any of them. It seemed, as she researched further, that the experiments had acted as a catalyst in her body, which was now going through the phase her ancestors had gone through after giving birth: awakening the inner persona. It was not so much as having another person inside the head, but rather expanding the mindscape with an incredible amount of knowledge, learned and passed down through the generations. Then there was the bodily adaptations, each and every woman before her had gone through a series of transformations, except for her mother, whom never had shown signs of changing. It had made life more difficult, but it had saved her daughter's life in the end. Right now, she was only going through phase one, and there were several more to go. Tony and Bruce had to see this information, they could help her out. But first, she had a few unfinished businesses to see too.  
First of all, she had to search the house for any traces that could aid her in her quest. Second, the house should be sold, so no one would go looking for her here anymore. Third, she would take on her old name. It was the name she had been given by her mother, the name she was supposed to follow…

It was the next morning, when she woke up, that it happened. The feeling of something changing inside. It was as if a fire started burning in her chest, low and warm. It hadn't spread out yet, which her mother had warned her about would happen in time. This was simply the first phase, removing every blemish on her skin, healing and reinforcing every injury ever sustained. A tingling sensation on her stomach distracted her for a moment, the injury from the SHIELD-agent was healing before her eyes! It gave her an elated feeling, healing at this rate would give her an advantage. But on the other side, from a scientific view, it was plain creepy. Human cells shouldn't be able to split that fast, what if something went wrong and she ended up with something worse? The thought terrified her, and she couldn't afford to linger on it. She had to search every nook and cranny of her old home and destroy evidence of her being non-human.

* * *

Steve had started to become suspicious. Tony and Bruce were hiding in the lab for far too long now, muttering over something they were viewing on a single screen. Everything else in the room was whirring, beeping around them, but that screen was the only thing they gave attention. He'd seen Anastasia's name on the screen, which made him even more suspicious. They obviously knew something about the girl the others couldn't know. He planned to find out, he just had to get into the lab unseen.


End file.
